DOT should OK agreement with Parkway Group

Editorial

Posted: Tuesday, January 18, 2005

Thus far, the state's first venture into a public-private roadbuilding partnership has been a public relations nightmare.

For months, representatives of The Parkway Group, a consortium of contractors proposing to transform Ga. 316 into a limited-access tollway, have been silent as their "guesstimate" of a 12-cent per mile toll for the 39-mile link between Athens and Atlanta has been roundly criticized as unrealistically high.

Then, just last month, the state Department of Transportation came in for its share of criticism after scheduling a public comment period that coincided with the holiday season, when the last thing on most people's minds was e-mailing the DOT with comments on a proposal to upgrade Ga. 316 to an interstate-style route.

To its credit, the DOT board voted at its Jan. 5 meeting to extend the public comment period by two weeks, ending Thursday, when the board is scheduled to vote on an agreement regarding The Parkway Group's proposal.

In the interim, The Parkway Group has begun its own campaign to speak out about its proposal. In a recent meeting with the Athens Banner-Herald's editorial board, an official with one of the companies in the consortium, with assistance from a couple of public-relations professionals, said its toll projections were based on the projected cost of the project and on tolls charged in connection with similar projects.

What the toll estimates did not take into account, according to James W. Berry, vice president of operations for Washington Group International, was the possibility that state and federal funds might be available to cover some of the estimated $800 million cost of the upgrade.

Berry and the public-relations representatives also contended they had been muzzled by the DOT with regard to the consortium's proposal, which was filed with the state transportation agency almost exactly a year ago.

But the public relations difficulties don't stop there. Also of concern to The Parkway Group is the fact that the agreement on which the DOT board is scheduled to vote Thursday is called a "commitment agreement," despite the fact an affirmative vote would commit the DOT to nothing more than continuing to explore the details of the consortium's proposal.

According to Berry, developing a final proposal for the Ga. 316 upgrade, and a subsequent final vote by the DOT board that would authorize construction, are somewhere in the neighborhood of two years away. While the consortium has already done some preliminary work on the proposal, particularly in connection with potential effects on environmentally sensitive and historically important areas, The Parkway Group plans to build a number of public comment sessions into its schedule for developing a final plan, Berry said last week.

So, with a DOT board vote on the commitment agreement scheduled for Thursday, it appears the public will have ample opportunity to offer input on the project, and it also appears the nearly $5 one-way toll for traversing the route might be subject to some change.

With that in mind, the DOT board ought to vote Thursday to enter into a commitment agreement to further explore the consortium's plan for the route. But the DOT board and The Parkway Group should both realize the toll issue remains the linchpin of public support for the project, and the toll figure currently in circulation will not be acceptable to motorists.

Given that, the consortium and the DOT board would be well advised to begin searching now for federal and state dollars sufficient to significantly offset toll revenues.